


Snow, Safety, Stealing and Stories

by Okami01



Series: Ashelix 2020 Week [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ashelix Week (Fire Emblem), Dark Past, Drama, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27114358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okami01/pseuds/Okami01
Summary: Ashe accidentally wanders into Fraldarius Territory as a child. He just needs to steal something and sell it. Then everything will be fine. Ashe gets more than what he bargained for.For Ashelix Week! Day 3 Family
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Series: Ashelix 2020 Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975840
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: Ashelix Week 2020





	Snow, Safety, Stealing and Stories

Even in mid-afternoon, it was freezing in Faerghus. The sun was up and maybe if Ashe looked up long enough and imagined warmth then it would come. His clothes were threadbare. But he couldn't afford anything warmer at the moment. For the past couple of months, it'd been choosing between comfort or food for his younger siblings. Of course, food for them mattered more than anything. 

Which was what he kept trying to tell himself as he trudged through the snow. Which is what he kept trying to tell himself as what felt like acid settled in his stomach. Left a terrible taste in his throat. His hands shook, and not from the cold. The horrible thing that he had to do. There was no other way. They needed to get money quickly before winter took full effect. 

There had been little success at trying to cut purse strings and steal jewelry. This was a risk but if Ashe could pull it off then he wouldn't have to worry. At least for a while. 

He took a breath, steeled himself, and started his attempt to break into the Faldarious mansion. 

He'd learned that the Duke was away on business. The place would be relatively empty. Now was his chance.

" Now or never," Ashe muttered into the cold snowy air. 

He was quick about climbing over fences, slipping past guards, shimmying into a window. It was dark. Some sort of study. Ashe looked around for something to steal. Something that the duke wouldn't miss. He grabbed a fancy looking dagger. Could probably sell it and earn enough to eat for a month if he played his cards right.

Ashe should have left with it. Instead, he stared at the books on the table. There was a huge pile of books there. Colorful and inviting. The one on the top was especially beautiful. Ashe didn't know what the words meant exactly. They were gold and under them, was a picture of a knight riding around on a horse. Ashe crept closer, unable to resist the urge to get a better look. It was warm, bound with golden thread, and held together with a soft leather cover. 

He stared at it longingly. Wishes he could read. Silently begging forgiveness to the knights he'd stolen from. Ashe had always loved chivalry. This was the very opposite of what they stood for 

He sighs. Willing himself to put the book down.

It's just so beautiful. And it's so warm in here. In the distance, there's the smell of yummy food. If he thinks about it hard enough, it's almost like he's eating it. He looks at more of the books, telling himself that he'll only stay for a few more minutes. 

Ashe gets nervous easily. Which is to be expected from a boy living on the streets from a young age. Sometimes, it's just nerves. A mouse skittering through a pipe, a tree branch hitting up against a window. 

Ashe whips his head around anyway. It's instinct that's kept him alive this long anyway.  
Sometimes it's a boy standing in the doorway holding a sword. Ashe nearly screams as the boy charges forward. Knows in the back of his mind that that'll only make more guards come.  
He's like some sort of shadow. Quick and closing the distance between the two of them as Ashe stumbles and tries to back up toward the window. 

The boy is like a shadow, inky hair flying every which way. Fierce amber eyes dotted with what look like tears. A sharp silver blade in his hand that contrasts his pale and somewhat chubby cheeks. 

Ashe should not be staring. He should be running for his life. That it doesn't seem like he'll have much of that left. He thinks of his siblings and chokes back a sob. He can't die here.

His heart nearly beats out of his chest as he throws a book to try and trip the weird wielding boy. He jumps forward, gracefully, dodging but miscalculating his steps. Tripping anyway. He stumbles forward, puts one of his hands out in a panic, and falls to the ground. 

He makes a noise. A sob. 

Ashe stops in his tracks. 

" Are you alright?"

The boy jumps up, surprisingly fast. Wobbles. Sword still held tightly in his hands, his shoulders bunched up in what looks like an attempt to look bigger. 

Red tinges his eyes and cheeks now. He can't be much older than Ashe.  
" Do I- Do I look alright?" He sobs, swipes at his eyes. Blinking to stop tears. "Who are you?" 

"I- I'm sorry I should go," Ashe backs up. 

The boy shifts into a stance Ashe has seen in knight picture books sometimes. 

He doesn't have time to admire the boy's sword style. The boy lunges forward, this time quick and practiced. 

Ashe screams this time. Fully expects the pain to come. For blood to bloom across his chest. He kicks out reflexively and they both topple to the ground instead. Ashe winces at the pain in his head. Still, this floor is softer than any shoddy brick alleyway. The other boy is on top of him, coughing, the sword out of his hands, and to the side. 

Ashe grabs for it, thinking frantically. Will he have to kill this boy? He doesn't want to. He can't. 

No. He will if he has to. 

The boy fights back. They struggle on the floor. Panic and heat make Ashe fight harder. The other boy seems to have some sort of military training. His movements are swift, but predictable.  
Ashe pins him to the ground, panting now. Expecting a sword or a lance in his back by now. Nothing happens.

Expect for the other boy looking up and glaring at him, his eyes dotted with fresh tears. 

"You came here to steal." He states. Glaring at Ashe. 

" Yeah," Ashe says numbly. With shame.

"Well…" the other boy looks away as if thinking something. " I wanted to beat you myself. But-but my father and my brother are gonna come back soon and if you kill me then they'll kill you."

He looks scared. Ashe has always been good at recognizing fear. He lives with it enough. 

" Wait- Are you Duke Fraldarius's son?"

The other boy scrunches his nose and sighs. He headbutts Ashe.

" Yeah," he spits out. Jumping up and away from Ashe in a fluid, almost catlike motion. He tumbles backward and sits on his knees. His eyes widen and he presses his mouth into a thin line that wobbles. Terror hidden under ferocity. 

Ashe's stomach lurches. He's just scared this boy half to death.  
He's cut and his hair looks wild. Of course, things could be worse. One of them could be dead. Ashe could have killed.  
He'll do what he has to in order to survive. A cold voice in his head says. Who will protect his siblings if he doesn't?

And yet, Ashe stares at the boy in the low light. They can't just sit here all day. 

" You…" the other boy begins in a high pitched voice. He coughs and tries again. " You. You're a thief but you're my age."

" Please," Ashe says. Wincing at the fear in his own voice. " I'm sorry. If you let me go I- I won't take anything and I'll never come back here I'll-"

" No." The other boy says with newly found confidence. He stands, in that knights pose again, puffing out his chest. " You can't just wander around in rags practically, in the cold."

Ashe begins to babble another plea.

The boy shakes his head. His bravado lost once again. " I can't- I won't have it. It's not fair."

" It's not," Ashe screams in his mind. Not quite a question or a statement. What is the boy talking about? And now Ashe feels rage. Not so much at him. Just in the world. Though there isn't any use in it. But he's so tired and hungry and it isn't fair. What does the other boy know about fairness?

" Where are your parents?"

" They…. They're gone. They died."  
Why do you care, Ashe wants to scream. He doesn't. Partially because the guards haven't come. Maybe they haven't heard. Also because, the other boy sniffles. 

" That's terrible." He digs in his pocket. Ashe expects the worst. 

" Take this," he says. Holding out his hand. Shiny gold pieces twinkle within. 

" Wait what are-"

" Take it," he says stepping forward, " or I'll cut you down."

Ashe scoops up the coin before either of them can think the better of it. Mutters his thanks. " What is your name?"

" Felix Faldarious."

" Thank you, Fe- Wait, what? Felix… Fraldarius."

" That's um… what I said…"

" Like Duke Fraldarius? The King's Shield?"

" Yeah, that's him," Felix replies somewhat quietly. But he smiles a bit. 

Ashe has to stop himself from grinning. " Sir Glenn's brother? Have you heard the stories about them? Oh, wait of course you have."

Felix smiles wider at that. Then he pouts and rubs his eyes. 

" Yeah, I have. They're good stories but they're not just stories. They're real you know."

" Oh," Ashe exclaims. " That's cool."

" Mm, anyway… now come with me," Je says without any malice or Ill intent. Felix doesn't seem like the best liar.

" What?"

But Felix is already heading out of the room. " Come with me."

" Wait what are you talking about?"

" You need to eat something and you'll freeze to death if you walk around in those clothes. Now come on." 

And that's how, despite how the situation was only recently going, Ashe gets pulled out of the study and down a hall.l, towards Seiros, knows where. Ashe apologizing again and Felix shushing him. 

_____  
" You bested me in combat," Felix whispers as they go down the hall. Ashe decides to ignore the fact that he can very clearly hear Felix sniffling and rubbing his eyes again 

And he doesn't know how true that is. Ashe will fight underhanded if he has to. That's what you have to do on the streets to survive. 

" I guess. But you were pretty strong."

Felix stops. turns around, his hair whipping around as he does. Ashe nearly jumps the movement but the other boy is only smiling. 

" Do you think so?" Before Ashe can answer, Felix starts talking again. Blushing slightly and looking away.

" Thank you… I'm not as strong as my brother… or Dimitri yet. I'm going to be. And that's I'm going to do what they would do if they were here. 

Ashe's brain freezes. He gets caught between three thoughts, ' What does that mean?' ,' Did you just say Dimitri as in prince Dimitri? And, ' I really should be going. Thanks for not killing me.

He can't articulate any of these thoughts fast enough. 

Felix asks  
"Oh um… what's your name again… if you don't mind me asking?"

" Ashe," he blurts out. 

" Ashe," Felix repeats quietly to himself. " Good. You should stay here and get your bearings. If… my family died then...I wouldn't know what to do really." Felix looks like he's on the verge of tears all over again. 

"I… I have siblings," Ashe replies. More bleakly than he intends. 

" Oh. They should stay here too." Felix says with that found confidence again. 

" Thank you so much, Ashe says mostly out of habit. He can hardly believe it. Even with all his hope and optimism, it seems kind of ridiculous. " I… I should really be getting back."

Felix bites his lip and shakes his head. " They're always telling me that I'm just a kid. Glenn and my dad don't understand. I can make my own decisions. And you- you're smaller than me. Probably younger? Which is good So I've decided, you should stay here. Then we'll get your siblings later."

Ashe tries to follow along with Felix's strange and completely out in the open thought process. 

He nods, afraid to say anything for fear of laughing. Felix is so strange.

Suddenly serious again. " I'm telling the truth, I promise."

" Now come on. We'll get you a coat or something and pretend that none of what happened before happened. And you can say that you're my friend. That's what Sylvain would do. He's teaching me how to lie."

Ashe does laugh at that. His heart does something strange at the word friend. Ashe hasn't had many of those growing up.

" I don't think that's something you should admit.

Felix's eyes widen. His mouth opens in shock. He puts his hand over Jo's forehead as if the world is ending. " You're right."  
He nods and smiles. " Thank you, Ashe."

" Ah… Or course." 

" So are you coming?"

"O-oh... If you really think I should."

" Yeah… it's kind of lonely when my dad and my brother both leave at the same time." Felix frowns and he starts to smile again. 

" Our territories are right next to each other. Ingrid's is close too. Usually, whenever Dimitri's dad comes to Faerghus, Dimitri comes too."

Before Ashe can reply to any of that, Felix looks serious again and says, " you just have to show me how to fight like that."  
Ashe nods before he really knows what he's agreeing to. It feels nice that Felix is so impressed. This, whatever it's turning out to be, is a lot. Tears, surprisingly happy ones, well up in his eyes. 

Felix turns back around. 

He starts talking about how they can eat yummy food. Spar. Listen to stories. That Sylvain keeps trying to get him to spell different curse words which has nothing to do with knights. That sometimes when they play together, Felix complains about being the knight in the story but he really likes it. He doesn't want to be the horse. 

Felix goes on and on and for a while, Ashe thinks it must really be a dream. He's still tired, and his feet are sore. The cold still nips at his skin. When he and Felix pass by a woman that must be a maid, Ashe's nerves well back up. 

But Felix just looks at her, smiles, and asks for a nice winter coat. She bows and goes off to find it.  
Ashe barely knows how it happened. Only that it really isn't a dream. Like something out of a fairytale.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Ashelix Week! Thanks for reading!  
> I don't know how much sense this makes or how occ Felix is but he used to be baby apparently. And Ashe could have been adopted into a different household.


End file.
